FLORIDA CUCUMBER (Vegetables)

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The field used to represent cucumber (vegetable) production in Florida is located in
Collier and Hendry Counties in Southwest Florida, although vegetable production areas include other regions of Florida such as the Everglades Agricultural Area, west-central and south-eastern regions. According to the 1997 Census of Agriculture, Florida is a major producer of truck crops and is the highest producer of cucumbers. Cucumbers and other truck crops are generally grown on "muck soils," but cucumbers do as well on sandy soils which require less cleaning before marketing. All cucumbers are planted by direct seeding in Florida. Typical planting distances for slicing cucumbers are 48 to 60 inches between rows and 6 to 12 inches between plants. Pickling cucumbers are typically planted at 36 to 48 inches between rows and 2 to 4 inches between plants. When grown using plastic mulch, slicing cucumbers are planted in one or two rows per bed, with 10 to 18 inches between the rows on the bed, 48 to 72 inches between beds, and 8 to 12 inches between holes with one or two plants per hole. Pickling cucumbers are planted at a distance of 3 to 4 inches between plants. At the closest spacing, the plant population is 21,780 per acre. Seeds are planted at a depth of 0.5 to 0.75 inches. Between 35 and 65 days are required from seeding to maturity (first pick). Cucumbers in Florida are produced using several types of irrigation systems. In mulched production, drip, overhead, and seepage irrigation are used. By raising the water table, seepage irrigation restricts root growth to the bed area. Water is maintained approximately 15 to 18 inches below the soil surface, allowing seepage into the root zone. The soil selected to simulate the field is a Riviera sand. Riviera sand is a loamy, siliceous, active, hyperthermic Arenic Glossaqualfs. These soils are often used for truck crop and citrus production. Riviera sand is a deep, poorly drained, slow runoff, slowly to very slowly permeable soil that formed in stratified marine sandy and loamy sediments on the Lower Coastal Plain. These soil are generally found on broad, low flats and in depressions and have slopes generally less than 2 percent. The soil is of moderate extent. Riviera sand is a Hydrologic Group C soil.